The Guardian (UK): A group of LGBT+ Afghans has arrived in Britain, the first since the Taliban’s return to power in August caused panic among gay and transgender Afghans, who feared persecution and even death under the Islamists’ rule. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 30, 2021 A U.S. government watchdog on October 29 accused the State Department and Pentagon of withholding information about the collapse of Afghanistan’s government and the true strength of the country’s military forces. John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), said the withheld information would have helped lawmakers
Ron Synovitz RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi October 29, 2021 War, drought, and COVID have devastated farmers across Afghanistan. Now, Afghan farmers who’ve lost money trying to grow crops over the past year say the Taliban is dealing them another crippling blow. The cash-strapped regime is making them pay so-called charity taxes on their land and harvests,
HRW: Taliban officials in Afghanistan’s provinces are using a manual that imposes rules harsher than the abusive policies announced by their leaders in Kabul. And Taliban authorities often do not comply with the rights protections that the manual, from the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue, sets out. In the manual, the Taliban discourages people
Business Insider: Pakistan beat Afghanistan by five wickets in their Group 2 Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Friday. Click here to read more (external link).
Al Jazeera: Hundreds of girls and women continue to learn – some online and others in hidden makeshift classrooms – despite closure of schools. Click here to read more (external link). Related Taliban Prohibits Private Universities from Hiring Instructors Without Their Approval A School Staff [Member] Died of Starvation in Badakhshan Province
8am: “Mr. Khalilzad considers Dr. Ghani’s obstinacy to maintain power as the main obstacle to his so-called peace,” Dr. Spanta, former national security adviser to Hamid Karzai, tweeted on Friday, October 29. “Ghani’s madness in maintaining his illegitimate power and his hostility to peace and the rule of law was evident. But Mr. Khalilzad, weren’t
Tolo News: The Taliban in unofficial meetings with Iranian officials said they recognize the Helmand River Treaty signed between Afghanistan and Iran in 1973, an official from Iran’s foreign ministry has said. According to the treaty, Afghanistan is committed to sharing the water from the Helmand River with Iran and will supply 26 cubic meters
Navbahor Imamova VOA News October 29, 2021 TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN — Central Asian republics are stepping up their diplomatic activity in the face of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, seeking to balance fears of increased extremist activity in the region against the risk of an economic collapse that could send refugees flooding across their borders. Three of